Time Machine

Homebrew - Stone IPA Clone

Bit of a cock up making this beer. I had incredible, detailed, professional notes which I took upstairs so I could transcribe them. But then I left them in my pocket and washed them and totally destroyed the paper. So now we only know what I can vaguely remember.

The recipe came from Austin Homebrew so at least that knowledge is not lost. I did my normal partial mash but I don't have any fun numbers to record. I don't even know the OG :(

I made a double starter because I really wanted to give the yeast their best chance. Four days after making the normal starter I made a 50% (by volume) starter wort, decanted 50% of the liquid from the starter and added the fresh wort. The idea was to feed the yeast a second time and get more of them.

Since I knew I was breeding a ton of yeast I was really worried about a fermentation explosion, so I asked Gemma to buy me some hose that fit an airlock so that I could have a blow off for a plastic fermenter. This turned out to be a very good idea as I have never seen a beer ferment as crazy as this one. We were watching TV and I thought we were being burgled. I tracked the noise down to the blow off mason jar banging on the floor with massive bubbles being pumped into it from the fermenter. When I dry hopped the beer the lid of the fermenter was caked in krausen.

Very big head, had to do the German swipe the foam off with a knife thing. Great head retention, nice and thick foam. Smells like a homebrew IPA, not the same as a real Stone, it has more grass. Very smooth mouth feel with a very faint hint of alcohol. Gentle hop taste at the start with a very long bitter hopiness in the aftertaste. The hop flavor continues to get more powerful several seconds after taking a swig. There is a good bit of suspended sediment in the glass but it is not gross to look at. I know people would probably not want to drink the dregs of the pint though.

I was happy how this turned out. Definitely a good, strong, homebrew IPA. Since I lost my notes I don't really have much to say about what I did and could improve on. A semi-unrepeatable mystery beer :)